Asus Zenbook A16 (2026) Review: Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme Impresses

The 2026 has started in full swing, but does not necessarily promise a great rivalry. Intel's Panther Lake has made a huge step forward, particularly on integrated graphics circuits, and AMD's 400 generation does not promise to be a great revolution.

But this overlooks the fact that we are now on a market with three SoC manufacturers. Qualcomm, not content to stop at mobile, comes a second time to try to establish ARM's dominance on the laptop market.

In France, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is exclusive to the Asus Zenbook A16, which has been thoroughly tested to determine the value of this new competition.

The machine was loaned by Asus for this test.

Asus is one of the few manufacturers that tries to be at least somewhat original in its designs. Of course, the result is essentially a metal rectangle with relatively rounded lines to avoid cutting yourself with every interaction, but we still find the "ceraluminium" that is now the brand's signature. Its own alloy intended to evoke ceramic, and which has, it must be admitted, the touch sensation of polished stone.

It is very pleasant, but that is not the feeling that stands out here. What stands out is the weight of this 16-inch configuration, only 1.2 kilograms. What is quite remarkable considering the Zenbook A16 is the combination of this weight with the rigidity that the configuration demonstrates. We are dealing with an ultraportable computer that is reassuring even though it is extremely light for its category, which is not a description we would readily make in the field. A little gem.

The keyboard configuration of the 2026 Asus Zenbook A16 is very classic for the brand. We find the beautiful evolution that the brand's switches have undergone and the quality of the keys, with a reassuring stability for a solid activation distance for the ultrabook format.

The touchpad perhaps offers the first small disappointment. While it retains an impeccable glide and a very wide diagonal, it does not allow for the haptic feedback that has become more and more "normal" for its competitors in its category. This is the only thing missing from the configuration to fully reach premium status.

On the left, we find a full-size HDMI 2.1 port, two USB-C 4.0 ports at 40 Gbps, and a combo jack. On the right, we have a single USB A 3.2 Gen 2 port, as well as a full-size SD 4.0 card reader.

The variety and modernity of the connectivity provided here are more than appreciated. One more USB-C port on the right would have been welcome, but this is nitpicking for what represents a very nice configuration.

The 2026 Asus Zenbook A16 integrates a fairly basic 1080p webcam. However, as we already observed on the previous generation, Qualcomm's SoCs are capable of doing a lot with very little thanks to the manufacturer's experience in the mobile field. Here, the rendering is really pleasant with very nice colours despite the lack of sharpness from the sensor. Very pleasant.

The same is true on the sound side. While the 2026 Asus Zenbook A16 does not integrate its speakers on the sides of the keyboard, it seems to have some under the keyboard since blocking those present under the chassis has no impact on sound quality. Everything is really good for a fairly average rendering, neither excellent nor bad, which we will qualify as "good" for its clean and fine rendering of treble signals, correct mids, and a regular lack of bass for the category.

The 2026 Asus Zenbook A16 integrates a large 16-inch OLED panel offering a 3K definition of 2,880 x 1,800 pixels, that is a 16:10 ratio. It is not touch-sensitive, but allows you to enjoy a 120 Hz refresh rate that is not activated by default. Note that while it is anti-reflective treated, it is far from reaching the treatment quality of a Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Ultra, to name just one. The configuration would have deserved a matte treatment.

Colour Coverage and Brightness

Under the test probe and with the Calman software from Portrait Displays, we find a coverage of 170% of the sRGB space for 114% of the DCI-P3 space. In SDR, the maximum brightness is measured at 468 cd/m², very good for indoor use, a touch lacking for use in full sunlight. The average colour temperature is measured at 6,268K, close to perfection, for an average delta e00 of 2.61, excellent with a maximum deviation of 5.85 on royal blue tones.

HDR Performance

In HDR, we find a maximum peak brightness of 1,065 cd/m² excellent for this product category. The average delta e00 on the DCI-P3 space is 3.1, still excellent. While the luminance curve is still not perfect on these portable formats, the offer of this Zenbook A16 is excellent. However, it really would have deserved a better anti-reflective treatment, which is disappointing for this premium category.

We are still on Windows 11, which benefits from the 26H1 update in "exclusivity", or in "beta" depending on perspective. We also find the usual Asus software, particularly MyAsus, as well as the usual preinstalled advertisements for the manufacturer. Nothing particularly new under the sun. Note also that while Qualcomm does not impose its installation, it is also possible to enjoy a "Snapdragon Control Panel" to have the latest drivers as a priority and manage profile features per game.

ARM Compatibility

What is important to see here is that unlike the launch of the Snapdragon X1 Elite, the natural compatibility limits of the ARM universe are no longer really felt here. Web browsers, Adobe tools, even our benchmark tools all have an ARM version now — Microsoft really seems to want to push this architecture despite the strengths of Intel and AMD.

Gaming Compatibility Caveats

With the exception of course of video games. This is still a point where compatibility improves daily, but it is not particularly difficult to find a title that will refuse to launch and offer a fatal error. When, of course, it is not its anti-cheat that blocks. For the first case, Qualcomm is at the stove; for the second, everything will depend on the evolution of the platform's popularity. In this, ARM's destiny under Windows is not so far from SteamOS for Linux in gaming.

The Asus Zenbook A16 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. It will also be the only one in France to be able to enjoy the most powerful version of Qualcomm's SoC, whose stocks are limited. Note that this is the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E94100, which is not capable of reaching the 5 GHz in single core promised by Qualcomm but is limited to 4.7 GHz, for a maximum frequency of 4.4 GHz in multi core. We are talking here about 18 cores for 18 threads nevertheless, with 48 GB of LPDDR5X RAM at 9,523 MT/s and 1 TB of storage in PCIe Gen 4.

We have on this platform the new Adreno X2-90 graphics circuit, its best version. And of course, an NPU dedicated to artificial intelligence calculations promising 80 TOPS, a record for the field.

Under Cinebench 2024, we find scores of 1,590 points in multi core for 150 points in single core. On the new 2026 version of Cinebench, this equates to 6,852 points in multi threads for 634 points in single thread. That is the best scores of the year, quite simply, against the Panther Lake in their best dresses as on the Galaxy Book 6 Ultra.

CPU Versus the Competition

If with 18 cores it seemed obvious that the configuration would manage to surpass Intel's 16 mixed cores, we did not necessarily expect such a victory on single thread with 26% more performance. On the CPU side, Qualcomm is quite simply the king of the current market, especially since the SoC retains its performance whether plugged into the mains or not, as is the case with Panther Lake.

GPU Limitations

But on the graphics circuit side, it is not the same story. The Adreno X2-90 offers us a score of 5,448 points on Steel Nomad Light, that is 16% less than the excellent Intel Arc B390 mobile, but still theoretically 38% more powerful than the Radeon 890M integrated into the ROG Xbox Ally X at 35W. Which is very engaging, but let us not forget other limits we will discuss in the gaming section.

Storage Performance

Finally, on storage, we simply find what is expected from PCIe Gen 4 storage of this generation.

We arrive at between 40 and 45% less performance on the X2 Elite Extreme compared to the latest Panther Lake. When games launch, of course, since in the case of Monster Hunter Wilds, the computer launches it for about 2 minutes before offering us a critical error.

This is without counting simply on the software offering around the products. Intel can count on an XeSS 3 that is increasingly powerful, which moreover offers MFG x4 these days. Qualcomm has nothing in its chest, except basic compatibility with FSR 3 and its highly unrecommendable algorithmic frame generation.

It would be very interesting to see the manufacturer develop its own technology that could rely on its very powerful NPU. In the meantime, we can always count on the very basic AutoSR integrated into Windows 11, in beta as at the time of the X1 launch, which at least has the advantage of needing no integration from developers.

For photo, there is virtually no difference between the X2 Elite Extreme and the Arc B390. But unfortunately, on video, the difference is huge: 58% less performance. Despite everything, we are here at the same level as the 2nd generation mobile Intel Arc integrated into Lunar Lake, which is not bad either. Quicksync simply has the lead.

Hearing its fans is close to unthinkable. The 2026 Asus Zenbook A16 seems not to need them, but takes the opportunity to sometimes refresh itself discreetly. In use, you really have to do synthetic tests to hear them, like running a Cinebench and a 3DMark test at the same time. Otherwise, silence is golden.

Temperatures are also excellent. Even in conditions that are not optimal, the fans muffled by a bed quilt for example, the computer does not really heat up. The advantage of ARM on this point is always significant.

The 2026 Asus Zenbook A16 integrates a 70 Wh battery that can be recharged via a 130W power supply, although a minimum of 45W is sufficient thanks to the Power Delivery standard. Note that on this configuration, it is the screen that is the most power-hungry.

In office use, screen set to 50%, we find a usage between 23 and 24 hours. This is essentially the same as the Intel Panther Lake integrated into the 2026 Zenbook Duo when it uses only one of its screens, and the best score we have had on Panther Lake since its launch.

ARM keeps an advantage in the fact that its sleep mode consumes almost nothing. We only lost 2% in two days of disuse on the remaining battery, which is terribly pleasant for a PC configuration.

The 2026 Asus Zenbook A16 is sold in France at the price of €1,999.

Positive Points

• Ceraluminium always pleasant
• The best CPU on the ultrabook market
• Exceptional battery life
• Brilliant sleep mode
• Simple and elegant, in use as in style

Negative Points

• Marked screen reflections at low brightness
• No haptic feedback touchpad
• Graphics performance lags behind the competition